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When did he start having me followed? The night he made me start working for him? Or after I was fired by Joseph?
My mouth dries up quicker than the Sahara Desert. He must know about the baby, and that’s why he is calm right now.
Would Giuseppe Rossi be that cruel? Would he really do something that will harm me and my baby just to get back at Arturo Marino?
Does he even know Joseph is the father?
Giuseppe Rossi stands up with a sinister grin on his face. “Now, I just need to put my plan into motion.”
He walks out the door and heads toward the foyer. Vincent wraps his hand around my arm and yanks me up.
“Ow. You don’t have to be so rough. It’s not like I’m fighting you or anything.”
“If you think this is rough, wait until I get my hands on you later.” His haughty tone sends shivers down my spine. He pulls me out of the room and down the hallway to the room I was thrown in last time.
This time, though, the room smells clean and there’s a brand new mattress in the corner.
Vincent shoves me inside the room. I lose my balance and fall forward. My knees slam into the concrete a second before my hands reach out and break my fall. I stretch and lock my arms to keep my stomach from hitting the ground, but the impact is too hard.
Pain radiates through my wrist, and I cry out in pain.
Vincent chuckles from behind me. “Get used to the pain. There’s more coming.”
The door slams shut. The sound echoing off the walls of the near empty room. I’m scared to look back. Did Vincent leave, or is he still here with me? Is this the part where he delivers more pain?
I crawl toward the mattress, keeping all weight and pressure off my left wrist, and I don’t turn around until I am as close to the corner as I can get. Spinning around, I shove my back against the wall and scan the room. I’m alone.
I take a deep breath and glance at my wrist. I stretch it from side to side and up and down before rotating it to inspect the skin for any bruising. It looks normal. There’s no swelling or visual bruises, and it’s not broken.
Glancing down at my stomach, I run my hand along the side. The fall could have been so much worse than a hurt wrist. I don’teven want to think about the worst case scenario. I need to keep my focus on getting out of here alive.
The door opens and a very familiar woman walks in like she owns the place.
“Emily? What are you doing here?”
I haven’t seen her in months, not since The King’s Empire burnt down. When Arturo and I asked her to work in the new club, she said no and that she was pursuing other employment. I thought it was because The Reapers and the fire scared her, but now I know otherwise.
She’s been working for Giuseppe Rossi, but for how long? Was it after the club burnt down? Was it before?
“Well, you’d probably find out sooner than later anyway, so I might as well just tell you. I’ve been working for Mr. Rossi for about a year now.”
Before the club burnt down.
She continues. “I was the one that revealed the drug trafficking to Mr. Rossi. Who do you think bought all of my supply? It was my idea to burn the club down and start working for him full time.”
I cut her off, letting out the anger that’s building. “Arturo was nothing but kind to you. He paid you more than any other employee, and he trusted you! How could you turn your back on him and betray him like this? How could you work for a cold hearted murderer like Giuseppe Rossi?”
She shrugs. “It’s all about the money. Mr. Rossi was willing to pay me double what Arturo was.”
“Why is it always about the money? Doesn’t anyone stay loyal anymore?” Arturo handpicked each and every one of his employees. He vetted them, gave them a job, and treated them like family.
She leans her head back and laughs. “In this economy, money is everything. Sure, Arturo paid me well, but gettingtriple my salary was hard to turn down. Especially after Francesca started poking her nose where it didn’t belong.”
“What do you have against Francesca?” I ask with a bite to my tone.
“She acts like she’s part of this world, but she’s not.”
“That’s because her father and brother excluded her to protect her from the violence. Why am I even arguing with you? There’s no point.”